View-finder.



A. A. RUTTAN & C. E. HUIGI-IINGrS.V yVIEW FINDER. APPLICATION FILED MN. 1e, 1913.

Patented July 8, 1913.

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ALFRED A. "RUTTAN AND CHARLES E. HUTCHINGS, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A

CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

VIEW-FINDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 8, 1913.

Application filed January 16, 1913. Serial No. 742,383.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that we, ALFRED A. RUTTAN and CHARLES E. HUTCHLN'JS, bo-th of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in View-Finders; and

we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and' to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

Our present invention relates to view finders and more particularly to collapsible finders, and it has for its object to provide a simple and efficient device of this character.

A further object of the invention is to produce a finder that will fold automatically upon contact with a rigid part against which it is disposed and which will "also automatically expand to an accurate operative position.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combina- `tions of partsall as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of .the specification.

1n the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a nder in operative position constructed in accordance with and illustrating one embodiment of our invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectiontaken substantially on the line Sa-Sa of Fig. 2; Fig.r 4 is a similar section with the parts in folded position; Fig. 5 is a front elevation, and Fig. 6 is a bottom planview of the top lens support.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several figures indicate the same partsl The device illustrated is a finder4 designed particularly for use in photographic cameras, such as folding cameras, and the exact part thereof upon which-it is mounted is immaterial for the present purposes, as it will be understood that there are many parts of .a folding camera upon which the finder may be mounted in a position in which it is desirable or necessary that it collapse or extend itself accordingly as the camera is folded or extended.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in this view, 1 indicates a plate supporting the front or field lens 2. In the present instance, the mechanism for directly mounting the lens also serves as a pivot about which the finder as a whole may be rotated between either of two positions 90 apart to provide, as usual, for the use of the camera with either of two adjacent edges of the sensitized plate on the horizontal. To these ends, the front support 1, mentioned, is provided with a forwardly projecting collar 3 that passes through a circular aperture in a main support or plate 4 so as to turn therein as a bearing. The lens tube 5 by which the lens 2 is directly carried, threads into the collar 3 and has a shoulder 6 bearing 'on the outside of the plate 4, whereby the front lens support 1, and, indeed, the whole finder structure, is held assembled on' the main support. A pin 7 proon the front lens support 1 to limit the swinging movements of the finder and define its two operative positions. l

The support for the top or reflect-ing lens 9 embodies, inthe present instance, a fianged and apertured frame 10 in which the said lens is retained by friction or the spring tension of the flanges of the frame, the lens being preferably provided with a metal binding 11. The rear end of this frame is hinged or pivoted at 12 to the upper portion of a plate 13 that is provided with an angle mirror 14 in the form, as preferred, of a highly polished metal surface, while the lower end ofthe angle mirror plate 13 is hinged lor pivoted at 14a to the lower portion of the frontlens support 1.

The support 1 is preferably provided with rearwardly turned side flanges 15` in which are formed longitudinal guiding slots 16,

l il() Yhorizontal position by the pressure thus eX- erted which carries its projection 17 to the extreme upper ends of the guides or slots 16. In this connection, the upper portions of both of the said slots are preferably provided with rearwardly inclined cam portions 2() which insure the movement of the said .projection to the eXtreme limit of the slot and avoid the said projection reaching a dead center with respect tothe exertions of the spring 19. When force is exerted in a forward direction at the rear of the angle mirror 13 by contact thereof with a fixed body, or otherwise, the mirror moves forwardly to the folded position of Fig. 4, substantially parallel to the front lens support 1. While this-*is being accomplished, the projections 17 on the top mirror supy port 10 slide downwardly in the slots 16,

again avoiding the dead center by reason of the caml portions 20, and the top mirror support assumes a folded position in rear of the front lens support 1 and between the latter and the mirror 13, as also shown in Fig. 1. Of course, when the forward pressure against the mirror is released, the finder again automatically assumes an. operative position, its normal tendency being to eX- pand. j

A spring washer 21 may be interposed between the front lens support 1 and the main support 4 to frictionally retard ythe turning movement of the finder as a whole and to retain it in either of the two positions to which it may be adjusted.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a folding View finder, the `combination with a front lens support, of a top lens support and an angle mirror adapted to be folded to positions i'n rear of the support substantially in parallelism to `each other and to the support.

2. In a folding 'vie'w finder, the combination with a front lens support,V and an angle mirror pivoted thereto and adapted to fold to a position substantially parallel there-n with, of a top' lens support pivoted to one of rocas/ie posi tibn between them.

3. In a folding .view finder, the combination with a front lens support, and an angle mirror pivoted theretol and adapted to fold to a position substantially parallel therewith, of a top lens support pivoted to one of said parts at one end, and a continuous guide on the other part in which the other end of the top lens support is arranged to travel whereby the latter is caused to assume a folded position between the other partsv as the angle mirror is moved toward the front lens support.

4Q. In a folding view finder, the combinationwith a front lens support having a rearwardly turned flange at one side thereof provided with a slot constitutinga guide and an angle mirror pivoted at its lower end toI said front lens support, of a top lens support pivoted at its rear end to the upper end of the angle mirror and having a portion at its front end cooperating with the slot or guide, on the front lens support whereby the top lens support is caused to assume a folded position between the other parts as the angle mirror is moved toward the front lens support. j

5. Ina foldingview finder, the combination with a front lens support provided with a longitudinal guide having a cam portion,

and an angle mirror pivoted' thereto and adapted to fold to a position substantially parallel therewith, of a top lens support pivoted to the angle mirror at its rearward portion and having a member at its front portion coperating with the guide on the front lens support whereby the top lens support is caused to assume a folded position between the other parts as the angle mirror is moved forwardly.

ALFRED A. RU'ITAN. CHARLES QE. HU'ICI-IINGS.

Witnesses:

RUSSELL B. GRIFFITH, NELSON Corr. 

